Resource Book on Horticulture Nursery Management

6.2 Content
6.2.1 Mass Scale Nursery Plant Production
Selection of Site for the Nursery: The selection of site for a nursery should be
made after considerable care and thought, since nursery location has a great impact on its
overall success. Following are the most important considerable factors for selection of the
location and site for a nursery.
A. Ecological Factors
1. Climate: The location should have mild climate with a long growing season. The
sites experiencing extremes in temperature especially with rapid climatic fluctuation
or incidences of high wind velocity, hailstorm or ice storms should be avoided.
2. Topography: Land for nursery should be leveled for most efficient use. Areas
prone to flooding or frost should be avoided. Low-lying areas should not be selected
for nursery.
3. Soil: The soil should have a good structure and porosity. It should be deep, sandy
Loam to clay Loam in texture with sufficient water holding capacity. It should not
be rocky or gravelly. Sites with degraded top soil should be avoided. The optimum
soil reaction for most woody species is 5 to 7.2. Sites having a soil pH more than 7.5
should be avoided because it is very difficult to lower the pH. However, acid soils
can be corrected fairly easily with the addition of lime.
4. Water: An ideal nursery site should have good rainfall distribution all over the
planting and growing season, with minimum rainfall during supply period. There
should be a permanent water source close to or within the nursery. Irrigation water
for young seedlings should not contain more than 200 ppm total dissolved solids.
B. Competition:
Competition is not a limitation for a nursery having a large market area. Moreover,
nurserymen in the vicinity or far away often cooperate with each other on most of the
issues like equipment, shipping of material and labour etc.
C. Social Factors:
Many social factors like population density, wealth, leisure, mode of life, ethnic
background, type of zone (rural/urban), presence of schools, hospitals, places of
worship, civic organizations and cultural centers are all very important for the success
of a nursery venture. All these issues should be given due consideration before selection
of a certain location for a nursery.
D. Biological Factors:
Biological factors like presence or occurrence of serious pests, diseases,
nematodes, rodents or weeds should be investigated well in advance. Scientists/experts
should be consulted before the selection of site for nursery.
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